Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CADEN
“Where’s Rory?” Mom asked as she wandered into the kitchen.
“Morning, Mom. Good to see you,” I deadpanned, sipping my coffee. “Rory’s at Ty’s.”
“Luke and Jensen?”
“They’re still in bed.”
She studied me for a second before sighing. “Do I need to give them a safe sex conversation too? You know a lot of diseases can still be passed between—”
“Whoa, too early for this,” I scowled, and she rolled her eyes.
“If you’re old enough to have sex then you’re old enough to talk about it. I’m trying to be sensitive about it because it’s obviously not public, but I have eyes.”
“They’re not doing it.”
“Sex. Say it.”
“Mom, for fuck’s sake,” I groaned, putting my coffee down.
“Don’t curse at me. Did Rory sort out different contraception? And back to my original question, do I need to talk to the boys?”
“We’ve been busy burying friends, so no, we haven’t figured out her contraception. The guys know about STDs, spare them the embarrassment. Please.”
“What STDs?” Jensen asked brightly as he wandered in with Lukas, who pulled his hand back so fast he almost threw himself backwards.
“I just want you boys to be careful, that’s all,” Mom replied. “If you two are sleeping together then you need to do it safely.”
“We’re not,” Lukas blurted out and put more distance between them, but Mom gave him a smile.
“Well, when you do, make sure you take precautions. There’s no rush anyway, take things slow.”
I wanted to shake her a little for being so upfront with the conversation, but Lukas just blinked at her.
“Wait, that’s it? You’re not going to tell us it’s a bad idea?” he asked slowly, making her frown.
“Why would I say that? Luke, honey, you’re a grown man.
You can do as you please in your own relationships.
If this is what you want, then I’m happy for you,” she said softly, huffing out a small laugh when he threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly.
“You know I love you as you are. All of you.”
“We love you too, Mama Josie,” Jensen grinned, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
“How’s Skeeter and Diesel? The funeral was yesterday, wasn’t it?” she asked, hugging Lukas a little tighter when it was obvious he needed a longer hug.
She was the best to the guys, and it made me so grateful to have a decent parent in my life.
“We didn’t go, it’s complicated,” I answered, not wanting her to know the Psychos were blaming Rory for his death. She was already worried about our safety, and I didn’t want to add to it.
“Was it dangerous?”
“No, but the crew did a private thing and we decided we’ll go and do something ourselves,” I shrugged, wondering how Tyler was this morning. He’d been devastated about missing the funeral, but then it was like he’d shut that shit down and blocked it all out. Same as Rory.
“If any of you need to talk about it, you know you can talk to me,” she promised. “Or about anything. You know I won’t judge you.”
Lukas stepped back, giving her a nod as he snatched Jensen’s hand before he could change his mind, testing the waters a little.
“Thanks, Josie.”
“Oh, I also have this too. The chief gave it to me.” She handed over a piece of paper to me, making me frown as I read over everything.
“What’s this?”
“That’s a letter from Marla Donovan. It was written not long before she vanished, but it wasn’t labeled correctly in their system when they found it.
They were doing an audit of past records while looking for information regarding another case and found it.
Obviously, I pulled strings to get a copy of it, so don’t make it too public that you have it, okay? I hope it helps.”
“Thanks, I’ll take it to Rory,” I promised, taking a photo of it with my phone in case it got damaged.
“I have a spa appointment so I’ll be gone for a few hours. I’ll see you later,” she said before heading off, leaving us alone.
“That felt good,” Lukas said firmly, more to himself than to us.
“Did you think Mom wouldn’t accept it?” I asked, and he winced.
“I had some concerns.”
“Understandable, dude,” I said as I patted his arm. “We should get this to Rory.”
“What does it say?” Jensen asked, looking over my shoulder at the note.
He’s never going to let me go. I can’t run with Aurora, but I need to leave before I don’t have the chance.
This time when I run, no one will ever find me until I want to be found.
I have to pray that Aurora will be okay until I can come back for her.
It makes me wonder if Polly was stuck too, or if he genuinely loved her.
If you ever find the chance, please check on my sweet girl.
I’m sorry things had to end this way, but I’ll see you again one day soon.
I love you, Axel. I probably have no right to ask, but please protect her. He’s a fucking monster.
Sending you all my love,
Marla Xx
“A love note?” Jensen questioned, but Lukas shook his head.
“Axel is Marla’s younger brother that died in gang shit when Rory was younger.”
“Considering this was written around the time Marla ran, I don’t think he’s as dead as Rory thinks,” I murmured, folding the paper carefully and putting it in my pocket. “We need to take this to Rory right now. Skeet’s with them too, so maybe he can pass it along to his connections.”
“Who’s Polly?”
“I’m thinking she might be Rory’s bio mom,” I answered as I downed the rest of my coffee before we headed out to Jensen’s car to leave, sitting in the back so Lukas could sit up front.
“Did all their belongings get sold off when they lost the house?” I asked, and Lukas nodded.
“I think so. Mom took us away for the weekend while they cleared the house so we didn’t get spotted near the scandal,” he said with the roll of his eyes.
“Rory was sitting in the house in the Heights alone for days until it was sorted. I managed to sneak out to see her on one of the days, and Max hadn’t even left food in the house.
I gave her some money, but I didn’t have much on me.
I’d stolen it out of a jar at home, just in case. ”
“If the cops had the note, why wasn’t an investigation done? It’s obvious that their home life was bad before she vanished,” I scowled, and Jensen sighed.
“Because people cover things up. Skeet thought the cops were hiding something, right?”
“Right, but Max was broke. Who paid them to bury everything about her?” I muttered, racking my brain for answers I knew I didn’t have.
It didn’t make sense unless someone else was involved, and I had no idea where to start with that. Half the town was corrupt, it could be anyone.
Skeeter was in a bad mood when we walked into the living room at Tyler’s to find him pacing on the phone. He pointed to the stairs, silently telling us Rory and Tyler were still in bed.
I knew he was probably busy, but I took the piece of paper out and waved it at him.
“Cops gave Mom an old note Marla had written before vanishing. It’s to her brother,” I said, his eyes narrowing.
“I’ll call you back, D.” He hung up and walked over, taking it from my hands to read it. “Axel? Did he have the same last name as Marla?”
“I assume so. He was tied in with gangs, and Rory’s under the impression he was killed as a teenager.”
“Axel fucking Leary,” he repeated almost angrily, handing the note back and typing something on his phone.
“Have you stumbled across him before in your search?” Lukas asked, and Skeeter scoffed.
“No, I couldn’t find anything about Marla having a brother. I was starting to think it was just a family friend that had zero relation to them.”
“Then why the hell do you seem to know the name?” I asked slowly as he glared at his phone for a moment before turning it to show us a prisoner file.
“Because Axel Leary is currently locked up in Fairview Prison. He’s one of Razor’s boys.”
“Shit,” Jensen muttered, just as Rory and Tyler wandered in.
“Hey, what are you guys doing here?” she asked, and Skeeter actually looked like he was going to keep his mouth shut. I gave him a dirty look and he sighed.
“Cops found a note from your mom that she wrote to her brother before going missing.”
He handed the note to her, and I heard the sharp intake of breath as she ran her finger over the ink.
“It’s her handwriting, but Axel died before she left. I was five, I think. Why would she write him a note?”
“Because Axel’s not dead,” he said before showing her his phone. “Axel Leary, twenty-eight years old, locked up for—” His voice faded before he winced and continued. “Human trafficking. He’s been in there for seven years. Got sentenced to ten.”
“Only ten years for trafficking a fucking person?” Rory sputtered with disgust.
“Depends on the judge or if a deal was made, but yes. Ten years for sex trafficking an adult. He’d be looking at closer to thirty if it was a child.”
“That’s not enough either,” she grumbled, taking his phone and staring at the photo. “What the fuck was he doing getting involved with that? He was always so nice.”
“A nice person doesn’t join the Soldiers or traffic people. For all we know, he’s the one that made her disappear,” Skeeter answered before taking his phone back.
“Maybe he helped her get out?”
“Babe, if this guy helped her get out of town, it was probably by selling her. She could be anywhere if that’s the case. This changes things.”
“It changes nothing,” she spat, sliding the note into her pocket. “She’s out there. I need to visit Axel to talk to him.”
“You need to stay away from that man,” Skeeter warned, blowing out a breath to calm himself. “But I’ll reach out to my guys on the inside and see what I can find out. I’ll visit the fucker myself if I need to.”
“I want to ask him things though. He’s my uncle, Skeet.”
“I know, but he’s not that nice teenager you remember. Right now, the Soldiers are gunning for you, so let me handle it.”